Trump Media crashes 22%, disrupting DJT rally days before election

Shares of Trump media The stock fell more than 22% on Wednesday, capping a remarkable rally that added billions of dollars to former President Donald Trump's net worth on paper ahead of the 2024 election.

DJT stock, which closed at $51.51 per share on Tuesday, fell to $40.03 by Wednesday's close.

Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, owns nearly 57% of the company, according to recent regulatory filings.

His stake was worth nearly $4.6 billion as of Wednesday afternoon, about $1.3 billion less than Tuesday.

Trump has vowed not to sell his stocks.

Trump Media, which owns the Truth Social platform, posted losses of more than $340 million on revenue of less than $2 million in the first half of the fiscal year. Still, the company has a market capitalization of $8 billion.

Analysts say many of his retail investors are Trump fans who are buying the stock to support the Republican candidate or bet on his chances of beating Democratic nominee Kamala Harris.

Trump Media went public in late March after completing a merger with Digital World Acquisition Corp., a special purpose acquisition company.

The newly combined company posted a strong rally in its Nasdaq debut, but has fluctuated sharply up and down in the months that followed.

The surge peaked in mid-July after Trump narrowly survived an assassination attempt at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania.

This was followed by a prolonged sell-off that pushed the company's share price below $12 in late September. The stock plunge coincided with Harris replacing President Joe Biden as Trump's rival, effectively restarting the race and wiping out Trump's apparent lead.

But the company shot up again in October as some national polls weakened the race and a number of political betting markets began to trend in Trump's favor.

Odds and gambling platforms do not use the same methods as traditional political polls and are therefore not a replacement for political polls. Critics fear that election betting markets are being manipulated.